Originally Posted by
chief31
Yeah.... I am with Matt here Mongo.
Not that the offense is 'fine, no need to worry'. But you have some major league rationalizing to do to come away focusing on the offense as the problem.
And that playoff game is not something that fits your case. The defense allowed six touchdowns, including a 64 yard, over the top pass, with a six point lead, and 1:15 seconds left to defend.......
That is a colossal, front-to-back, top-to-bottom, inside-and-out failure of the defense.
Whereas the offense produced 513 yards of offensive production in a single game. And they only turned the ball over one time.
That is a Grade A performance.
The defense earned a clear-cut F. They did manage a couple of turnovers. But not enough to counter the five second half TDs they allowed.
You seem to be pointing at the offense for not getting the + on that 'A'.... I mean, no.... They did not do the defense's job of keeping the opponent from scoring 35 points in the second half. And they had a chance at the end but came up short. But give me that offensive performance and I win 19 out of 20 games.
Likewise, if you give me that defensive performance, I will lose 19 out of twenty games.
Having said that... I agree that the offense is far from a finished product. I need them to perform over 16-20 games, not just one. And they were pretty ugly for the first half of 2013. The improvement in the second half is undeniable. But, that it has problems is just as undeniable.
And the defense, having looked terrible throughout the second half of the season, looked exceptional through the first half. So we have a half of a season of problematic offense, and a half of a season of problematic defense.
What tips the scale, quite dramatically for me, toward the needs on defense, is the trends of each. The offense started slow, and got it together as the season progressed. Whereas the defense started strong, but seemed to be exposed as the season progressed. And that playoff game highlighted those trends exactly.
Going from bad to good instills confidence. And going from good to bad causes concern.
My concern is with what happened to the defense. And, while it seems to get brushed over pretty well, I think the biggest part of it was Justin Houston's absence. But I HAVE TO put the defense at the forefront of our list of needs. I do not require the greatest defense, but I do require better than what we saw the last few games we played. Much better.